American Politics during the Obama Presidency

Please note:

The antonym of enlightened is "enlightened." If need be, I can explain it when you buy Bob (referee) and me a drink.

I am neither an intellectual nor "enlightened" which I proudly prove on a daily basis.

I am the reflection of many experiences both in and out of class rooms (emphasis on out, despite my degrees). I am the wildcat well digger who can read and turn a phrase. I am generous when times are good and able to find and share inspiration, when I hit a dry well. I have been around and seen many things. I also realize, that I haven't even scratched the surface of what I have yet to experience.

[QUOTE=Wild Walleye]Again, you are entitled to your opinions. I am entitled to disagree with them (for now at least)[/QUOTE]Seriously, I'm not really sure why people engage in these threads. Nobody ever convinces anybody of anything and everyone just ends up getting mad. Maybe some guys really like working their underwear up into a bunch. Personally, I find it unpleasant and uncomfortable, and no reason to ruin my mood. I wonder how Rule 34 applies to bunched up underwear.

The name of the thread is: "America Politics During the Obama Administration". That is why I am talking about "America Politics During the Obama Administration".

The threads about women are more fun and entertaining. But political discourse is fun and entertaining and I get to make people mad.

I am actually a semi-principled monger first, and I kind of like getting my underwear bunched up. I'll post that experience in the new thread "Bunched up underwear is the only thing coming near my ass".

[QUOTE=Sinistra]Seriously, I'm not really sure why people engage in these threads. Nobody ever convinces anybody of anything and everyone just ends up getting mad. Maybe some guys really like working their underwear up into a bunch. Personally, I find it unpleasant and uncomfortable, and no reason to ruin my mood. I wonder how Rule 34 applies to bunched up underwear.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Sinistra]Seriously, I'm not really sure why people engage in these threads. Nobody ever convinces anybody of anything and everyone just ends up getting mad. Maybe some guys really like working their underwear up into a bunch. Personally, I find it unpleasant and uncomfortable, and no reason to ruin my mood. I wonder how Rule 34 applies to bunched up underwear.[/QUOTE]Because sometimes it's interesting to read other people's opinions.

At the beginning of the Obama Administration we were told that if we immediately enacted the Obama stimulus program unemployment would peak at between 8% and 9%. If the Obama economic stimulus program was not enacted we were told that unemployment would go through the roof.

We enacted the Obama economic stimulus program and are now being told by Obama himself that unemployment will reach 10% this year and may rise from there.

Some member on this board, much to their credit, stated back in February that Obama's so-called stimulus program was only a method to increase the size, power and influence of government. The economy and, specifically, unemployemt levels were not going to be positively affected by the Obama 'lets have big government' stimulus plan.

The simple fact is that the government cannot competively manufacture a single pencil, a single mousetrap or a single piece of candy. All money that goes to government programs is money down a rathole.

What would have worked? What would have worked is what Reagon did. Lower taxes on businesses so that businesses are not forced to lay off workers. Lower taxes on working people so working people have more disposible income.

The Obama stimulus program has put future generations of Americans into an unsustainable debt position without creating a single new job. The millions of new paperpushers that Obama is funding are worth less than a warm bowl of piss.

But what do you expect from somebody who has never had a real job in his lifetime?

The fact is that government is not the answer to our problems, government is the problem.

P.S. I shutter to think what would happen to todays economy if we had over 10% unemployment, over 10% inflation and 20% interest rates (for those with a short memory, this is what Reagon had and Reagon never whined and complained about the hand he was dealt)

El Alamo your points are well made, I recently reviewed some remarks by Charles Krauthammer that in many ways echo and expand your comments.

However I personally think Obama is much worse than either of you has made him out to be, and that's scary as hell!

[quote]Subj: Charles Krauthammer Speech / Comments on the ‘New Economy ’ and Barack Obama.

To my friends & associates:

Last Monday was a profound evening, hearing Dr. Charles Krauthammer speak to the Center for the American Experiment. He is a brilliant intellectual, seasoned and articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has a Pulitzer Prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post. The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have shared this with many of you and several have asked me to summarize his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even two Dems at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not ‘drunk the Kool-Aid ’, feel free.

A summary of his comments:

1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a ‘cool customer ’ who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's ‘behind the mask ’. Taking down the Clinton dynasty from a political neophyte was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit t hem. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.

2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!

3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can ’t be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to ‘level the playing field ’ with income redistribution and punishment of the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada.

4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, and NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada. God forbid.

5. He ’s surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever run even a candy store. But they ’re going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can ’t work in the long run. Obama ’s not a socialist; rather a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.

6. Obama doesn’t really see himself as President of the USA, more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate and coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalence in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America, as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!

7. He ’s now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not ‘come due ’ until after he ’s reelected in 2012. He ’d like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Mr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.

8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. We are ‘pining ’ for another Reagan, but there will never be another like him. He believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in Feb. Are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and information if she ’s to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and states ’ rights.

9. The current level of spending is irresponsible & outrageous. We ’re spending trillions that we don ’t have. This could lead to hyper inflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn’t work, nor will the stimulus pkg. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama’s allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.

10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman Brothers failed. Fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of ‘change ’ caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.

11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the economy.

I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There ’s a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we are right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's too late. [/quote]I’m sure someone will come up with a reason to disregard Mr. Krauthammer remarks, but I don ’t think you can label him a "Republican activist", and I don ’t think he ’s "preparing for the 2010 elections" perhaps he ’s just a concerned American.

Oh but wait; he's been on Fox news, maybe you left wing nuts can hang your hat on that.

[QUOTE=Sidney]yada yada yada[/QUOTE][QUOTE=Punter 127]blah blah blah[/QUOTE][QUOTE=El Alamo]whine whine whine[/QUOTE]What you guys are overlooking are several key points:

1. Obama is where he is because the Republican Party so thoroughly screwed the pooch during previous eight years.

2. Many people (like me) might -- just might -- have given the Republican Party another chance under the leadership of John McCain, had McCain not chosen the clueless airhead he chose to be his VP nominee.

3. Since Obama's election, literally no one in the Republican Party has said one word -- not even a syllable -- indicating an iota of potential for leading the nation in a better manner or direction than Obama is doing.

If you want to make policy and lead the nation, you have to win elections. And if you want to win elections, you have to do a whole hell of a lot better than the Republicans have done or are doing.

My own view is that the Republican Party is where the Democratic Party was in 1968. It's pretty intellectually and morally bankrupt, and it's going to take more than just some charismatic individual to turn the tide. It needs an entire retooling from the ground up. That's going to take some serious time and effort, and no one I see appears willing to admit it.

[QUOTE=StrayLight]3. Since Obama's election, literally no one in the Republican Party has said one word -- not even a syllable -- indicating an iota of potential for leading the nation in a better manner or direction than Obama is doing.[/QUOTE]Hi SL,

I couldn't disagree more with everything you've said, but tonight I'm only going to address just this one of your fables.

Since the election I've read and watched countless Republication politicians, Republication strategists, editorial columnists, news analysts and other pundits offer up a steady stream of advice for the direction of the country.

These ideas have included:

- An income tax cut that actually would stimulate the economy starting with the next payday.

- Keeping the fully functioning terrorist containment facility at Guantanamo Bay that is protecting our country.

- Shooting down every North Korean test missile as it lifts off the pad.

- Standing up to the unions by not spending $500,000 dollars each to save UAW jobs.

- Showing strength and resolve by standing tall and not apologizing to countries to whom we owe no apology.

- Living within our financial limitations by not authorizing the expenditure of huge amounts of money that we just don't have.

The problem that the American media, in their slobbering adoration of the Messiah, simply isn't letting these opinions be heard. For example, author Mark Levin's book titled "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto" has been #1 on the New York Time's best seller list for 12 weeks, yet this author has NEVER been interviewed about his book by any liberal newspapers or television networks in the entire country.

Thanks,

Jackson

Mongers,

Everybody on this forum knows that I am a far-left wing Obama supporter who is the anti-Jackson. However, the bottom line with the stimulus is that it is complete shit. All it is doing is further bankrupting a bankrupt US Treasury and further expanding a useless US federal government. The bottom line is that if the government cannot at least break even on its finances, it needs to downsize. Neither political party is willing to accept this reality when they can simply delay the inevitable by printing money and devaluing the earnings and savings of the US populace. There may have been a day when the Republicans stood for small government and fiscal responsibility, but that day passed many moons ago (certainly more than 20 years ago) and it is the Republican neo-con scumbags who took a Clinton-era SURPLUS and turned it into a massive budget deficit. I am a believer in a universal free healthcare system but the money to pay for it has to come by eliminating existing government programs / agencies. Eliminate the Federal Department of Labor; every state has its own department of labor. The same goes with the Department of Education and the National Park Service; let the state agencies deal with education and caring for the parks. Literally, billions of dollars of taxpayer funds are wasted on a yearly basis on government agencies that serve almost no purpose and are a complete waste of money and energy. The DEA is another example of a useless government agency. Billions of dollars are spent to take 1% of the drugs coming into the US off the streets. The government should legalize, regulate, and tax the drugs which would raise revenue while at the same time eliminate billions in wasteful spending.

The bottom line is that the US federal government is a disgustingly inefficient and oversized behemoth that, much like the windows operating system, is collapsing in on itself. No US politician has any fucking balls; if they did they would tell the people the truth, which is that the government doesn't need more money, it needs to simply cut the size of itself in half and stop wasting the taxpayer's dollar.

Suerte,

Rock Harders

Pick up any of his books (except the one about the dog) and learn a little something about the US, the Constitution and politics from one of the very best.

RH-you hit the nail on the head. Decrease the size and reach of the govt. Don't increase it!

A good place to start would be to stop the TARP and other BS phony stimulus now, cancel all unnecessary open and yet to be started programs. Cut as many federal agencies as possible and mandate that each cabinet post eliminate 20% of its budget. Put PRIVATE SECTOR performance and accountability into the government. Perform and / or produce or hit the unemployment line. Reward those that do more with less.

Cut taxes, spur growth, hold money supply constant, reduce the deficit and national debt to sustainable levels.

Get the national 'brain' focused on the fact that it is not the government's money, it is ours.

[QUOTE=Rock Harders]Mongers-

Everybody on this forum knows that I am a far-left wing Obama supporter who is the anti-Jackson. However, the bottom line with the stimulus is that it is complete shit. All it is doing is further bankrupting a bankrupt US Treasury and further expanding a useless US federal government. The bottom line is that if the government cannot at least break even on its finances, it needs to downsize. Neither political party is willing to accept this reality when they can simply delay the inevitable by printing money and devaluing the earnings and savings of the US populace. There may have been a day when the Republicans stood for small government and fiscal responsibility, but that day passed many moons ago (certainly more than 20 years ago) and it is the Republican neo-con scumbags who took a Clinton-era SURPLUS and turned it into a massive budget deficit. I am a believer in a universal free healthcare system but the money to pay for it has to come by eliminating existing government programs / agencies. Eliminate the Federal Department of Labor; every state has its own department of labor. The same goes with the Department of Education and the National Park Service; let the state agencies deal with education and caring for the parks. Literally, billions of dollars of taxpayer funds are wasted on a yearly basis on government agencies that serve almost no purpose and are a complete waste of money and energy. The DEA is another example of a useless government agency. Billions of dollars are spent to take 1% of the drugs coming into the US off the streets. The government should legalize, regulate, and tax the drugs which would raise revenue while at the same time eliminate billions in wasteful spending.

The bottom line is that the US federal government is a disgustingly inefficient and oversized behemoth that, much like the windows operating system, is collapsing in on itself. No US politician has any fucking balls; if they did they would tell the people the truth, which is that the government doesn't need more money, it needs to simply cut the size of itself in half and stop wasting the taxpayer's dollar.

Suerte,

Rock Harders[/QUOTE]

Rock Harders, Your last post makes a lot of sense. I owe you an apology for ragging on you every time I had the chance.

[QUOTE=Jackson]Hi SL,

I couldn't disagree more with everything you've said, but tonight I'm only going to address just this one of your fables.

Since the election I've read and watched countless Republication politicians, Republication strategists, editorial columnists, news analysts and other pundits offer up a steady stream of advice for the direction of the country.

These ideas have included:

- An income tax cut that actually would stimulate the economy starting with the next payday.

- Keeping the fully functioning terrorist containment facility at Guantanamo Bay that is protecting our country.

- Shooting down every North Korean test missile as it lifts off the pad.

- Standing up to the unions by not spending $500,000 dollars each to save UAW jobs.

- Showing strength and resolve by standing tall and not apologizing to countries to whom we owe no apology.

- Living within our financial limitations by not authorizing the expenditure of huge amounts of money that we just don't have.

The problem that the American media, in their slobbering adoration of the Messiah, simply isn't letting these opinions be heard. For example, author Mark Levin's book titled "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto" has been #1 on the New York Time's best seller list for 12 weeks, yet this author has NEVER been interviewed about his book by any liberal newspapers or television networks in the entire country.

Thanks,

Jackson[/QUOTE]Hi Jackson,

When I read a statement like this, I wonder how it is that you've been able to find crack to smoke down here while I haven't:

[QUOTE]- An income tax cut that actually would stimulate the economy starting with the next payday.[/QUOTE]Dude, we just finished eight years of the lowest income taxes in living history. If income tax cuts were a panacea and the key to stimulating the economy, we'd be buying and selling the cities of China at this point. The reason Obama is in office and Republicans are licking dog shit out of the gutters is because most Americans understand a bit about reality (which most Republicans obviously don't).

That particular statement of yours is simply garbage that ranks up there with the equally ridiculous notion you used to espouse that our invasion of Iraq was George Bush's brilliant strategy to draw Al Queda into a place where we could kill them all. And the really sad part is....that particular statement was actually the best of the six you wrote. LOL!

[QUOTE]...author Mark Levin's book titled "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto" has been #1 on the New York Time's best seller list for 12 weeks, yet this author has NEVER been interviewed about his book by any liberal newspapers or television networks in the entire country.[/QUOTE]

Mark Levin simply needs a new publicist. (Or does he think he "entitled" to be interviewed just because his book is a current best seller?)

Again, there's lots about Obama and his policies that I and many like me don't particularly support. It's just that he beats the living piss out of what we've had for the past eight years, and what the Republicans seem to be able to muster as counterpoints.

You're welcome,

Straylight

[QUOTE=StrayLight]Dude, we just finished eight years of the lowest income taxes in living history. If income tax cuts were a panacea and the key to stimulating the economy, we'd be buying and selling the cities of China at this point.[/quote]SL,

We had 7+ years of unprecented economic growth during the Bush Presidency and those tax cuts, growth that might still be happening if it hadn't been for Democrat's bomb in the form of policies requiring banks to lower borrowing standards for home buyers.

[QUOTE=StrayLight]and Republicans are licking dog shit out of the gutters. [/QUOTE]That kind of language is not necessary or welcome.

Thanks,

Jackson